Steve Marsh (footballer)

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Steve Marsh
Marsh, c. 1945
Personal information
Full name Stephen William Marsh
Date of birth (1924-09-12)12 September 1924
Place of birth Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia
Date of death 5 March 2024(2024-03-05) (aged 99)
Original team(s) Kalgoorlie Railways (GNFL)
Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight 70 kg (154 lb)
Position(s) Rover
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1945–1956 South Fremantle 226
1957–58, 1960 East Fremantle 039
Total 265
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1946–1954 Western Australia 019
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1957–1958 East Fremantle Unknown
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1960.
Career highlights
  • South Fremantle premiership player 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954
  • South Fremantle fairest and best 1950, 1952, 1956
  • Sandover Medallist 1952
  • Simpson Medallist 1953
  • Western Australia captain 1954
  • East Fremantle premiership captain-coach 1957
  • All-Australian selection at the 1953 Adelaide Carnival
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Stephen William Marsh (12 September 1924 – 5 March 2024) was an Australian rules footballer who represented South Fremantle and East Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL) during the 1940s and 1950s.[1]

Marsh is regarded as one of the finest rovers of his era.[2] He was famed for his drop kicks to position.[3]

Life and career

Born in

Fremantle before the 1945 WANFL season and upon arriving at Fremantle Oval, he was invited into the South Fremantle Football Club rooms first, so chose to play for them, rather than East Fremantle who also trained at the same oval.[5] The commonly recited myth that he accidentally entered the wrong rooms is incorrect.[6]

Here he played 226 games over 12 seasons, which included being a player in six premiership teams (1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954).

All-Australian Team in 1953.[1]

Somewhat controversially he moved to

East Fremantle and in 1960, having amassed a career total of 284 games, he retired as a player.[4][7]

Marsh played 19 games for Western Australia, and was captain of the side in 1954.[4][13]

His impact as a player and motivator was reinforced emphatically in 1957 with the new captain-coach leading the East Fremantle Sharks to their first flag in 11 years on his way to receiving a premiership pay 'bonus',[14][15] while his former club South Fremantle missed the finals for the first time since the end of World War II.[16]

His vocal playing characteristic however may have cost him some personal glory. During his career Marsh only won a single Sandover Medal, but fellow Hall of Fame member John Todd opined that Marsh's fondness for backchatting umpires probably cost him a couple of medals.[17] Marsh himself is on record as stating that he did not lead the South Fremantle Bulldogs during their golden era because "I had too big a mouth to be captain".[18]

Marsh died on 5 March 2024, at the age of 99.[19]

Awards and honours

Marsh was made an inaugural member of the Fremantle Football Club's Fremantle Football Hall of Legends in 1995.[20] He was inducted to the Hall of Fame at the South Fremantle Football Club in 2011 and elevated to Legend status in 2015.[21]

In 2005, he was elevated to Legend Status in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.[22] He is also a member of the Western Australian Institute of Sport Hall of Champions.[23]

In June 2006, he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the player category.[24]

The Steve Marsh Entrance to Subiaco Oval is named in his honour.[4] Marsh Close, a street in the Fremantle suburb of O'Connor, is also named in his honour.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Steve Marsh". Australian Football. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ^ East (2006) p188
  3. ^ East (2006) p190
  4. ^ a b c d e Hart, Matthew (6 March 2024). "Football icon Steve Marsh passes away at 99, leaving the sporting community in mourning". Starts at 60. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Stephen William MARSH". West Australian Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  6. ^ East (2006) pp187–188
  7. ^ a b c "Steve Marsh". Western Australian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  8. ^ "VALE STEVE MARSH". South Fremantle Football Club. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  9. ^ https://www.wafooty.com.au/download/d/YDyh3vcwBILv69uKXg2f5ueff1bv5bxQ8K19ivRF-J4
  10. ^ "STEVE MARSH WINS 1952 SANDOVER MEDAL AWARD". The West Australian. 18 September 1952. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  11. Code Sports
    . Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  12. ^ "WA Football Mourns the Passing of Steve Marsh". West Australian Football League. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  13. ^ Harvey, Neale (6 March 2024). "Sandover medallist Steve Marsh remembered as legendary rover". Kalgoorlie Miner. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  14. ^ "League Premiers 1957 – East Fremantle FC". East Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Premiership Years – East Fremantle FC". East Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  16. ^ "South Fremantle". Australian Football. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  17. ^ East (2006) p189
  18. ^ Everett, Les; "A night for Fremantle legends". Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ Quartermain, Glen (5 March 2024). "WA, South Fremantle great Steve Marsh dies at 99". The West Australian. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b "City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle Street Names Index" (PDF). Fremantle City Library History Centre. p. 51. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  21. ^ Pike, Chris (21 June 2015). "Eight Legends elevated in South Fremantle Football Club Hall of Fame". South Fremantle Football Club. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Stephen William MARSH". www.wafootballhalloffame.com.au. West Australian Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
    "WA Football Mourns the Passing of Steve Marsh". West Australian Football League. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  23. ^ "WAIS Hall of Champions". Archived from the original on 8 October 2009.
  24. ^ Australian Football Hall of Fame Players

Bibliography

  • East, Alan (September 2006). The Sandover Medal Men. Alan East.
    ISBN 0-9775813-0-6
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Marsh (footballer).
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